The Irreplaceable Joy of Sharing Success

Bearing witness to dealer accomplishment is what SSCS misses most about staying at home.

These are unusual times for the convenience store industry.

No in-person NACS.

No in-person regional trade shows.

No way for our community to come together, face to face, to share their stories and describe how they are overcoming the challenges caused by this pandemic.

While the Zoom meetings and virtual conferences that have sprung up in their absence are an admirable attempt at a substitute, they only go so far. Ours is a personal business, founded on a personal touch, not a distanced one. In-person gatherings are part of the industry’s fabric and make it special, because the people who work in the industry are so special. It’s a kind of exceptionalism that comes across most potently when you’re in the same room. That’s when you can really feel it.

I speak from experience as, in the course of almost a quarter century, I have attended hundreds of industry events. And in that time there has never been a shortage of dealers willing to share their own brand of secret sauce with anyone who would listen. In most industries, individuals would covet their methods for success, but not in ours, which makes this group so unique. Sure we all want to succeed, but we understand that success is ultimately about seeing your fellow dealers win, too. Yes, we compete, but we do business in a room that’s big enough for all pursue the American dream to the best of our abilities. 

If this pandemic has taught me anything it is the resilience of our industry and our dealer community. The textbook definition of resilient is, “able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.” I would say the last five months definitely qualify as “difficult conditions.” As a matter of fact,, this time of great uncertainty has brought out another characteristic of the industry that I admire—a willingness to innovate and try new things.

SSCS celebrates this spirit of resilience, because it is part of who we are, as well, and has been for close to four decades. Thanks to our customers, we continue to grow year after year in the face of events—like those which we now face—that have often caused other providers to downsize, if not vanish.

We realize we wouldn’t be in this position if our customers hadn’t been willing to push themselves out of their comfort zone and take a technological leap with us, often when they had  little previous computer experience. We take their faith in us seriously. It motivates us to ensure their transition to technology is a smooth one; to make sure that we are there to deliver assistance while they cross the bridge of change—which can be a scary journey, indeed.

C-store back office software has been around for about as long as our company has. Yet there still are those that are unsure about its potential to increase profits while reducing expenses. If you’re one of those, I’d like to suggest you give us a call and let us know how we can help. For now, stay safe, keep your head up and look to the horizon, because there are better days ahead. You may not be able to look us square in the eye right now, but we’re still here, like we’ve always been, willing and able.

— Shawn Herrick
Vice President of Sales
SSCS, Inc.

Smoke gets in your eyes

As you may have heard by now, California is currently plagued by over 500 wildfires, in various degrees of containment. Salinas, the city where SSCS is headquartered, has not been immune. One blaze, the River Fire, crept down from the neighboring hills, threatening the houses of some of our associate

Though an unwelcome disruption to those individuals, we are happy to report that so far everyone and their families are fine, and our first responders seem to be getting the fire under control. In fact, the team members affected have already moved back into their homes after a temporary evacuation.

While no one can ever be ready for this type of circumstance, some of the protocols we put into place for COVID-19 have served us well and positioned us to serve our customers as if it were just another day in the…well…”unoffice.” We know our customers rely on us every hour of every day. We continue to strive to meet that expectation.